Sphinx Physiology

Sphinx in repose

Power/Ability to:

Contents

Capabilities

The user is or has the ability to take on the form of Sphinx, a mythical creature with, the body of a lion and the head of a human or a cat.

In Greek tradition, sphinx has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman, mythicised as treacherous and merciless. Those who cannot answer her riddle suffer a fate typical in such mythological stories, as they are killed and eaten by this ravenous monster.

Unlike the Greek sphinx which was a woman, the Egyptian sphinx is typically shown as a man (an androsphinx), in addition, the Egyptian sphinx was viewed as benevolent in contrast to the malevolent Greek version and was thought of as a guardian often flanking the entrances to temples.

Modern sphinxes tend to combine the riddling and feminine appearance of the Greek sphinx with the less violent temperament of the Egyptian sphinx, but one repeating pattern is that sphinxes are guardians and secret-keepers.